Chu Lian casually tossed the obscene drawings aside and continued cleaning out the dry grasses on the bed.
Wenqing and Wenlan had curious expressions on as they asked, “Third Young Madam, what kind of book is that?”
Chu Lian cast a sideways glance at the book and spoke in an indifferent tone. “See for yourselves.”
Wenlan was the more active of the pair. Her curiosity was already burning like an itch in her heart. Third Young Madam had looked through that book for quite some time just now! She had even been holding back her laughter while reading. That just made her even more curious.
She glanced at her older sister before taking the book in hand. Wenqing also drew closer to her.
However, after flipping the first two pages, the two girls screamed and the book dropped to the ground.
Chu Lian found their actions weird, so she asked, “What’s wrong?”
Wenqing and Wenlan’s faces were completely flushed. They stared at Chu Lian with eyes of rebuke. “Third Young Madam, those are lewd drawings!”
Chu Lian almost tilted her head in confusion, “I know that.”
How are you so calm and indifferent since you know that… Wenqing and Wenlan were speechless.
Chu Lian’s lips crooked up at one corner. It was just a roughly drawn book of slightly lewd drawings. Young guys and girls wouldn’t even give it another glance back in the modern world.
Wenlan picked up the book and quickly put it on the side table next to her as if it was a hot potato. The moment she set down the book, she quickly drew her hand back. Her cheeks were even glowing red.
Chu Lian wanted to hold her forehead. Weren’t these two girls too innocent?
She ordered Wenqing and Wenlan to change He Sanlang’s bedding into the more comfortable and thick set she had brought. She then put a fleece blanket on top of the bedding. This way, it was much more warmer than before when she sat on top of the bed again.
After she tested the thickness of the bedding, Chu Lian nodded in satisfaction. She ordered Wenqing and Wenlan to patch up the areas where the seams of the fleece blanket had come apart slightly.
When they were done, Wenlan looked outside and realised that it was almost 11am.
Captain Guo’s adjutant came in to report that they would be having their midday meal soon. The soldiers of the Left Wing Army would be returning from the frontlines soon, so they would be eating together.
Joy showed on Wenqing and Wenlan’s faces. Third Young Master was back!
The three girls washing clothes outside the tent also heard this piece of news. Xiaoyan and the other girls who had been washing clothes numbly suddenly perked up.
Xiaoyan’s eyes darted in thought before she said, “Let’s wash a little slower.”
“Ah? Sister Xiaoyan, we’re almost done with all these. Why don’t we finish up and head back to rest earlier?”
Xiaoyan’s expression turned cold as she drew out her reddened hands from the icy cold water. She said fiercely, “Our general is about to return. I want to show our general how much we’ve been bullied by that woman while she wasn’t around!”
The other two female soldiers’ moods lifted upon hearing that. That’s right, their general was back. No one would dare to bully them now!
Thus, the three girls purposely left their hands a little longer in the cold water until they were almost purple. This way, they would look more pitiful later.
Chu Lian didn’t care about whatever the three girls outside were thinking at all. Once she heard the report, she simply nodded and had Wenlan go off to boil up a kettle of hot water.
He Changdi knew that Chu Lian would come to visit the camp today. Thus, upon receiving the order to return to camp, he quickly led his subordinates and rushed back.
With a whip in her hands, Sima Hui led the army and followed He Changdi. The red tassel on her helmet danced in the icy winds. As she stared at He Changdi’s heroic figure, she frowned and asked, “Why is Captain He in such a rush today?”
Although He Changdi was young and had an absolutely stunning face, he normally kept that handsome face in a cold expression. He was also quick and resolute in his actions and he was very skilled in martial arts. He had never once lost in the martial arts competitions in the army before. He was normally steady and introverted. Even during that sneak attack by the Tuhuns a month ago, he had been able to remain calm and decisive. Thus, it was a rare surprise to see him this hurried and flustered.
The military officer accompanying Sima Hui on the way back burst out into laughter.
“That damn brat, he’s just rushing back to our camp to meet his wife!” The military officer spoke a little crudely, but there was a hint of affection in his tone. It was clear that he was close to He Sanlang and maybe even held admiration for the steady and experienced junior officer.
Sima Hui was a little stunned for a moment. A bitter feeling passed through her heart, making her unable to speak.
The military officer thought that Sima Hui wasn’t in the know, so he kindly explained things to her. “That brat is House Jing’an’s third son. He came out here to this godforsaken northern border in a fit of stupidity. If he were my son, I would have broken his legs! But that brat’s pretty lucky. He married a good wife. His wife got a decree from the Empress Dowager to come to the northern border with some supplies. The young couple must not have met for quite some time, look at how rushed that brat is.”
TL Note: A quick note to clarify things since there was a misinformed review posted on TMR’s NU page and I can’t reply to the review…
…chapters are now being split into 7 or 8 parts instead of 2 or 3!
…I have been reading the same chapter for 7 days now…
I’m splitting chapters into two parts now. I split them into three parts around the hundred chapter mark because the word count per chapter shot up, but I don’t do that anymore because the word count has gone down.
I have never split chapters into 8 parts as the reviewer claims! There was a chapter titled Rumours (8) because the author reused the same chapter title for 4 different chapters: Rumours (1) (2) (3) and (4)… which were then split up into Rumours (1) – (8).
Chapters are so short now / Plot isn’t moving
For the word count, the author has written 2k Chinese words per chapter for the past 10 or so chapters, where she wrote about 3k Chinese words previously.
I understand that it’s frustrating to read shorter chapters, but I can’t translate more. My wrist strain injuries prevent me from typing too much, and I only get 2 hours of free time on weekdays after I get home from my full time job. >w<
Thank you to all the readers making cute comments about the story and sending their appreciation, you’ve been keeping me motivated :3
Unfortunately, I’ve been getting a little bummed out by some negative comments recently, so I really need a break… Sorry to leave you with this cliffhanger, but I hope you’ll understand.
TMR will be on hiatus for one week, and I’ll be back with more chapters on June 12 after this break <3
– timebun
